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Show Proof! Using Testimonials
Go ahead - toot your own horn! But, do it via someone
else's words. While it's great to say you're wonderful and
offer so much of value to your visitors, your claims holds
much more credence when it comes from a source outside
yourself. Testimonials are powerful tools that pull your
visitors closer to you and persuade them into purchasing
what you have to offer.
Which would you rather hear - "I'm great!" or "This business
provided such great service that I would return to time and
time again!"? Just like a reference in a resume, a
testimonial offers credibility. Many marketers say that a C
should be added to the AIDA formula, whereby the C stands
for credibility. And, credibility is built with
testimonials.
Testimonials add that special punch to a website and nudge
the visitor to transition from a sightseer into a valuable
customer. Many websites mistakenly overlook adding
testimonials to their site and miss out on the power that
these statements have on revenue. To overcome obstacles
toward obtaining quality testimonials, below are some tips:
1. Ask for a testimonial in writing. The saying "if you
build it, they will come" transfers to building
testimonials. In other words, if you ask, many times
customers are more than happy to provide a testimonial.
2. The best testimonials are positive. If a client mails
you a positive comment, ask that customer to elaborate on
the comment along with permission to use it as a
testimonial. Lots of customers consider this a compliment.
Always get the customer's permission on a "release letter"
form before you use any testimonial.
3. Offer rewards or deals for every freely given
testimonial. Mail out notices about your campaign and offer
a reward, monetary or donation, or a discount on future
purchases. Check with your state laws regarding gift
donations.
You can choose to do a testimonial campaign directly from
your website, in the mail or direct e-mails.
Spread the testimonials generously throughout your website.
Do you limit your testimonials to one spot? Disperse your
testimonials in several places in your website for the best
results. For instance, place testimonials among content
that pertains to the testimonials. Also, put testimonials
in the margins of an article or product description page.
In addition, slide a few testimonials into material that is
part of a special course.
Know your visitors, in particular their job positions, well
before inserting loads of testimonials. The more likely
that your visitors are pioneers or high-level executives the
less likely they will be persuaded by testimonials.
However, visitors who are "emulators" want to see plenty of
testimonials that represent an opinion they respect.
The most believable testimonials come from a real person and
uses real conversion language. A long testimonial is more
believable than a short testimonial. Below are tips for
selecting believable testimonials:
- Place the testimonial in quotation marks and
include the entire name of the person who supplied the
testimonial, along with their title.
For example, "A.R. from Arkansas" sounds made up compared to
"Arthur Rock, President of Sales/Marketing, XYZ Corporation,
Little Rock, AR".
- Pick a testimonial that contains lots of details.
- Real testimonials are positive and inspire you to want
those things for yourself as well.
Relying on testimonials to sell your service or product is a
mistake. Instead, use testimonials as a tool to position
your service or product in a manner that further supports
the reader's decision to do business with you.
Copyright 2005 Riki Trafford. All rights reserved.
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Riki Trafford is the owner of Direct MO
Marketing
which offers low cost keyword-targetted web traffic.
For comments and questions visit his web site:
http://www.1dmom.com/
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